


Make It Work

by populardarling



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Based off the show Bewitched, F/M, Fluff, Humans falling in love with witches without even knowing it, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25326139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/populardarling/pseuds/populardarling
Summary: He could never know her full identity; could never hear all her stories and rants about her personal life. If this date turned into anything more than a simple night out, their relationship would start on a huge lie. But she wanted him, she argued. So much was going wrong in her life that would it really be a bad thing to be a little selfish and go out on a date with him?Katniss is a witch trying to give up her magic when she meets a human that makes things a little bit difficult.Everlark meets Bewitched
Relationships: Gale Hawthorne/Madge Undersee, Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	Make It Work

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic I forgot to transfer over. This is based off one of my favorite shows growing up, Bewitched. 
> 
> Setting is 1960s

**i.**

Her place wasn’t big and fancy like all her friends’ places at home were, but Katniss took pride on her hodgepodge apartment. Nothing in her apartment matched and all of the furniture had some kind of hole in it, and despite the paint cracking near the ceiling, her hot water running cold after five minutes of use, and the unusual smell coming from her kitchen that she preferred to ignore, Katniss loved it. The place was a dump, in all honesty, but it was hers and she didn’t care. No magic was involved in decorating and minus her clothes, everything, apartment included, was bought from her meager paychecks. To everyone at home, her place wasn’t ideal, but to her, it was everything a human could ask for.

“I know it’s not super nice,” Katniss hurriedly explained when her old school friend Madge came to visit. “But it’s definitely got a certain charm, don’t you think?” A cockroach scurried up the wall behind her friend and Katniss smacked it dead with the roll of paper towels in her hands. She’d been cleaning all morning in preparation for her friend’s visit. Madge looked questionably behind her and frowned at the brown stain on the wall.

“Your parents would be horrified.” She took her coat off and snapped it to the coat rack next to her. “This place is filthy, Katniss,” Madge continued, walking around the small living room and shaking her head at the sight of laundry and magazines piled high on the ground. “How can you stand this?”

Katniss looked down at the paper towels and spray bottle she’d been using to scrub her apartment clean for the past three hours and bit softly on her bottom lip. When she told her family and friends about her plans on moving to Chicago and starting life as a magic-free human, everyone called her crazy. Some even placed bets on how long she’d last in the “cruel, boring world.” (Her cousins Finnick and Johanna lost months ago, they had such little faith in her ability to survive without magic.) Her parents practically ex-communicated her, claiming she can contact them whenever she’s done playing human and ready to come home, and a majority of her friends stopped talking to her when she insisted that the only fun she’d participate in is regular human things, like drinking or tipping cows (humans were really weird like that). “You’re no fun anymore,” they whined, trying to guilt her into using her powers, but Katniss refused. She wanted to be human and was determined to prove them all wrong.

Madge was one of the only friends who stuck by her side. She thought it was a fun idea, roughing it in the wild like this. “It’s very brave of you,” Madge constantly told Katniss whenever they Mirror’d each other. “Perhaps I’ll try roughing it and we could be two brave witches facing whatever human storm together!” The idea of her best friend joining her in the city always excited Katniss because she wanted everyone from her world to see how wonderful the humans actually were. Everyone at home assumed the worst from them, thinking the humans were still like the barbarians they all remembered eons ago. Her friends and family all thought she was crazy wanting to leave the safety of their world, and they thought she was even crazier for wanting to live in the human world without magic. The very thought was unheard of. But Madge was popular and had a way of persuading others to see her way. If she could live in Chicago without any magic and survive, surely others would want to see what the hype was all about, right?

“What is _that_?” Madge screamed, snapping herself on top of the couch.

Things weren’t looking too promising on Madge ever returning.

Katniss peered over the coffee table and sighed in relief. It was only Gus, her apartment’s mouse. She shooed it away and explained that Gus didn’t mean any harm. He was looking for a warm place to stay in the winter like everyone else and she couldn’t deny a poor creature his right to safety and warmth.

Madge wrinkled her nose and took Katniss’s offered hand, stepping back down and pulling out a handkerchief to wipe invisible dirt from her hands. “I don’t see why you couldn’t just send the mouse somewhere else. Hawaii, perhaps?”

“Gus,” Katniss corrected.

Her friend rolled her eyes and wiped the couch cushion she was just standing on with her handkerchief before sitting down. “Whatever. I’m sure whatever you call it would enjoy the islands better than this… _place_.” Crossing her legs in the lady-like fashion both their mothers ingrained in them, Madge sweetly smiled and patted the spot next to her. “Come sit and tell me all about the humans, Nissy!”

Katniss smiled at her childhood name and wiped her grimy hands on her jeans. This was the perfect opportunity to show Madge all the wonders of doing human things. Where should she begin? She looked around the room and— _duh_! The kitchen! That was the one room that still fascinated her because no one at home even owned a kitchen. It was a room full of tricks and mysteries all its own. “Do you want some tea?” 

“Tea would be lovely!” But before Katniss could turn to fill the kettle, Madge snapped her fingers and the room transformed into a quiet Italian vineyard. A small orchestra played softly in the distance and two waiters stood next to their table with a tray of tea and cookies. Pink roses wrapped around the iron-wrought fencing surrounding them, filling the air with sweet smells of wine and roses. The sun was warm, but not too warm for tea outside. They were both dressed in light violet dresses and large white sun hats protected their eyes from the sun shining through the roses’ leaves. Madge was absolutely pleased with herself, fixing her white-blonde curls and dabbing a gloved finger to her lips. Katniss crossed her arms and waited for an explanation why her friend simply _snapped_ them somewhere else without even asking.

“Much better,” Madge clapped, pleased with her idea. She took a timid sip of her tea and ignored her friend’s scowl. “So how’s life in Chijango?” 

Katniss stared incredulously at her friend before shaking her head. “Madge, snap us back to my apartment.”

Madge blinked once, twice. “But this is more fun!” She nodded her thanks to the waiters and snapped them away. “And Prim’s been telling me you haven’t been anywhere in months. Nissy, I’m simply being a good friend.”

“No,” Katniss said, “being a good friend is asking how _Chicago_ isfrom my apartment. That’s in Chicago.”

“But Italy is nicer.”

“But I told you I gave up magic.” She twitched her nose and they were back in her apartment. “I’m through with that life, you know that.” 

Madge stared steadily at Katniss, annoyed at her insistence of staying in the measly apartment. “You just did magic,” she argued.

“To correct yours,” Katniss sighed. Convincing Madge was going to be harder than she thought. Getting up to make herself tea, she asked how life at home was.

“Oh, same old same old,” Madge brushed off. “I saw your parents last week, though.”

Katniss raised an eyebrow at that. It’d been weeks since she’d heard about her parents. “Oh?” She tried to sound indifferent about it, but she was always curious if they mentioned her to any of their friends without embarrassment being their first reaction on delivering it. “How are they?”

“Oh, you know,” Madge smiled knowingly at her. Katniss’s nonchalance could fool her. “They’re excited about Prim talking to some warlock fellow at school—hoping they’ll make a match, no doubt. Your dad’s been down about some company thing I could care less about—but you already knew that given the weather forecast lately, and I overheard your mom telling mine how _worried_ she is about her little kitty. ‘She’s never been very good at common things,’” Madge imitated, batting her eyes the way Cary Everdeen always did when upset. “‘How long does this sort of phase last, Myra? How long?’”

Katniss gripped hard on the coffee mugs she was pulling out, nearly breaking one in two. Yes, she thought bitterly to herself. _How long?_ How long were her parents going to think this was some stupid teenage phase she was going through? How long until they realized she was a full-pledged adult who could make her own decisions about the way she wanted to live her life? She’d been gone for over eight months now. Surely that was long enough to prove to them that she was in this for the long-run.

Madge didn’t seem to notice Katniss’s lack of response, though. She prattled on about local gossip that seemed so far away Katniss wasn’t sure if she really was a part of that world anymore. What did she care if so-and-so accidentally magic’d in the wrong client for some meeting when the date for her monthly rent was slowly approaching? And was it such a big deal that their mothers’ Witchly Wives Counsel won the right to change the flowers in their city’s gardens on a weekly basis to please city dwellers with their favorite flower when her electricity bill was due next week and Katniss wasn’t sure how she was going to afford both electricity and running water? None of Madge’s gossip seemed relevant to Katniss anymore. The realization felt liberating. 

“I tried to tell him that I don’t date warlocks who magic in muscle,” Madge said, oblivious to Katniss’s sudden realization, “but he wouldn’t take no for an answer!” She shook her head and waited for Katniss to agree. Katniss nodded absentmindedly and she continued, “That’s the thing I hate about warlocks—Oh, thank you.” She took the coffee mug and sniffed it before taking a timid sip. “They think they’re all high and mighty, but they’re not. Lazy, that’s it! They’re all too lazy to get the real thing!”

This was it. This was the moment Katniss was waiting for to segue into convincing Madge to move in with her. She had to do this carefully because already Madge wasn’t impressed with her living situation, but with the right arguments, Katniss was sure to convince her friend that Chicago wasn’t as bad as their parents made it out to be. They could even buy a nicer apartment if Madge found a better paying job than a perfume sales clerk at Marshall Fields.

“You like Chicago?” Katniss began slowly, testing the waters.

Madge took another sip, winced, and set her mug down. “I guess. The buildings are pretty.”

“Chicago has lots of handsome guys.” That caught her attention. Madge’s blue eyes widened, surprised a human city could hold such a thing. “And the strong ones are actually strong,” Katniss went on with more confidence. “There’s no magic behind those…rock-hard abs.” The phrase felt silly coming from her, but it seemed to work. Madge was all ears.

“And when they say they can sing, they really can, and they make you food, and—“

“Nissy,” Madge interrupted, holding her hand out. “I can’t imagine that being true. Humans aren’t pretty.”

Her cheeks flushed red and Katniss insisted that they were. “I’ll prove it.” She picked up the phone and dialed the electrician’s number taped to the receiver. For weeks she’d been meaning to call the number so that she could get human channels from the TV box everyone was so addicted to, but something always came up that took higher priority. Now seemed like a better time than ever to call an electrician over to install the TV box’s magic. And weren’t electricians supposed to be attractive?

**ii.**

Her heart fluttered fast as they waited to be seated. It was stupid to be this nervous, but it was her first date. _Ever_. And it was with someone she’d been thinking about for weeks…Did he say something?

“I—uh. What?” Peeta smiled at her apparent nerves and nudged her lightly in the shoulder.

“I said this is the best pizza joint around. Don’t get much better than this.” Oh, yes. The pizza. Katniss tried to reciprocate the smile, but hers came out more like a lopsided grimace than a smile and she scolded herself for being so… _awkward._

No surprise there, she snorted.

Their whole… _whatever they were_ was awkward. After calling the electrician company, Peeta showed up two hours later to install her TV box’s magic and Madge was beside herself with how handsome he was. Katniss was mildly impressed that the books she was able to purchase were right about the appliance industry and its workers, but she kept her surprise to herself, keeping a close eye on Madge. It was the first time in a long time since Madge was around a human and Katniss wasn’t sure what her friend would do to the unsuspecting electrician. Magic him to be in love with her? Magic him to some private island? The list of possibilities was endless when it came to Madge.

In the end, it was Katniss who accidentally magic’d something else for him to fix. She loved watching the way his large hands worked with the human devices and wanted to see more. His hands were mechanical in their own way and it was obvious he’d been doing this for a very long time with the skill and grace they had. After he was done fixing her radio, Madge picked up on Katniss’s crush on and snapped a whole slew of problems for him to fix.

“I don’t know if I’ll have time to fix all of these,” Peeta joked that day. He’d just finished fixing her toaster, wiping burnt breadcrumbs off his hands and overalls. “My shift ends in fifteen minutes.” 

“You can come back whenever,” Madge answered for her friend. Ever since she magic’d a broken radio in, Katniss couldn’t form a sentence her mind was so muddled with images of his calloused hands gripping his rusted tools. She had to keep touching her nose to keep from twitching it again like that. Eight months almost magic free and this electrician was ruining it.

If he was going to come back off duty, he figured to come back as friends. “Peeta Mellark,” he introduced. Madge introduced them both and Peeta’s come back ever since. 

His visits weren’t as casual as they are now, but he came over every few days in the beginning to see how her appliances were and to see if there was anything else she wanted him to fix. Katniss always told him everything was fine and that no, he did a wonderful job fixing everything that she was set for life. Once it became apparent that Peeta wanted more than business interaction, Katniss (with the magical threats of her best friend) began asking him over for coffee. Everything was very casual and she was able to hold a conversation without wanting to twitch her nose to make everything _perfect._ Things were really looking up until Peeta ruined it by asking her out on a date.

“Like a date date?” she asked, stunned he was even asking her. She was positive he told her he was seeing someone when they started this…thing.

Peeta chuckled softly at her surprise and shrugged. “I figured I owed you something for all the coffee you’re giving me. So yeah, like a date date.”

Katniss would deny it later on, but she twitched her nose, freezing everything around her, and paced her living room for almost an hour, contemplating what to even tell him. He knew she hated surprises and this was a huge surprise. Sure, at night she often thought about him, imagining what it would be like to run her hands through his wavy blond hair and kiss his chapped lips, but she never imagined her feelings were _mutual._ Should she even _explore_ these feelings? Was it right for her to?

Frozen in his seat, Katniss grimaced and realized how selfish it was to involve him in her mess of a life. He could never know her full identity; could never hear all her stories and rants about her personal life. If this date turned into anything more than a simple night out, their relationship would start on a huge lie. But she wanted him, she argued. So much was going wrong in her life that would it really be a bad thing to be a little selfish and go out on a date with him?

It was the human thing to do.

Unfreezing him, she told him to pick her up at six on Friday and it was a date.

“So…” Peeta pried after their waiter delivered their pepperoni pizza and he urged her to be the first to take a bite. “What do you think?”

Her mouth enflamed with hot cheese and meat, Katniss guzzled down half her Coke and quietly burped into her napkin. His eagerness was endearing, and she wanted to please him so much, but she was there when pizza was first invented. This was nothing in comparison.

“It’s delicious,” she fibbed, hoping he didn’t know her well enough to catch her lie.

He didn’t. Peeta smiled and pulled a slice off the tray for himself. They quietly ate for the next few minutes, only commenting how gooey the cheese was compared to other pizza joints around here and asking if she wanted more. She declined his offers and wondered what people on date dates did next. Do they start kissing now?

“So what did you do before coming to the Windy City?” Peeta asked between bites.

Katniss frowned and thought carefully about her response. Peeta was always curious about hers and Madge’s pasts, but whenever he caught her off guard with one of his questions, she always twitched her nose to create a distraction that would steer away from any thoughts of the past. It always worked, but Katniss didn’t want to twitch her nose tonight. She wanted her first date date to be magic-free.

“I was a student.” It was true. Her and her sister attended one of the most prominent wizardry schools in the world.

Peeta leaned forward and engulfed her in his large blue eyes. Anyone could find themselves swimming in his eyes, she was sure of it. “A student, huh? So specific.”

She smiled down at her lap, a blush creeping up. “I don’t like talking about it much because it always makes me feel better than I really am.” She shrugged. “I’m no better than anyone else.” That part was true.

“I don’t think you see yourself the way the world sees you. Anyone with a decent pair of eyes could tell you’re better than a lot of folks around here.” Her heart leapt 50 feet in the air, choking her with his sudden compliment. Peeta was always doing stuff like that. Complimenting her until she choked. Madge thought it was sweet, but Katniss didn’t think so. He enjoyed throwing her off balance like this and she knew it.

“I can assure you I’m a perfectly normal human.” It was impossible to hide how proud she was at the statement. It’d been over a year since moving to Chicago. She was a normal human now.

Peeta leaned back in his seat and critically looked her up and down. Eyebrow arching up, he shook his head. “I don’t see it. You’re not human at all.”

Her eyes widened and her thoughts ran a million different ways. Where, in the past few months, had she messed up? Did he feel her when she froze time? Or saw her moving when he couldn’t? Did he notice how weird things sometimes happened when she twitched her nose? _Ohgodohgodohgod_ , her mind warped around. He knew she was a witch.

“I’m not?” she squeaked, trying to remain calm. If anything, she could wipe his memory clean of ever knowing her and leave right now. That was always a possibility. “What—uh, what am I, then?”

Peeta leaned forward, the table wobbling with his elbows’ added weight, and took her hands in his. “You’re just…different. A good different!” he explained quickly, covering any verbal mistakes. “I just…most girls claim they’re these rare, special things that graced God’s earth when really they’re nothing but some nobody from down south trying to impress any guy they see. You’re…not.” He shook his head, laughing at something she didn’t know. “You’re always so happy and _determined_ to be seen as this plain Jane when you’re anything but.”

She loved the way his hands fit perfectly around hers. They were hardworking hands that told a story of all the human things they’ve ever done. She hoped her hands would look like his one day.

“All my life I’ve been told I’m better than others,” she explained, still looking at their hands. “And I’ve always felt wrong about it. I’m no better than anyone around me. In fact, I would argue it because there are so many talented hu— _people_ around me. I wish I was as amazing as all of you.” She looked up at him and smiled. “I want to be ordinary.” _Like you_ , she almost said.

But was that true? Peeta was far from ordinary. In either world she’d never met someone who could converse so effortlessly with people. He could lull anyone into a sense of security without batting an eye. And the way his smile seemed to fix all of her problems in a heartbeat was truly magical. Peeta was far from ordinary.

Lightening struck outside when the check came, startling them both from their conversation. They pulled apart instantly, both shyly looking at the window as a reason to look away. Rain started pouring seconds after, like the skies opened up and was letting them have it. Katniss wondered in horror if her father knew about her date with Peeta, knowing the telltale signs of his anger, but it couldn’t be possible. She hadn’t spoken to him in months and Prim didn’t know enough about Peeta to assume anything serious was happening between them.

“It sure is raining out there,” Peeta said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah,” she said just as lamely.

He bit down on his bottom lip—a sight that sent her stomach flipping again—and fumbled for his wallet. “I should’ve checked the weather before picking you up,” he admitted. “I was planning on taking you—uh, you know what?” He shook his head again. “Never mind. Dinner with you was more than I could ask.”

His fluster amused her and she bravely took his hand, drawing him back to her. “What were you going to do if it wasn’t raining?”

“You’re going to laugh.”

“I’m not,” she promised. 

Peeta bit down on his smile and rubbed his thumb over her fingers. “After dinner, I was going to walk us down that road.” He pointed out the window. “And right around the corner is this old flower shop that’s been around for years. I’d buy you whatever flower you want and probably say something cheesy like ‘you’re prettier than any flower in this place.’” She laughed at that and he lightly kicked her, reminding her of her promise. “And after that, we’d walk to the park where I know musicians like to play. I don’t get much money, so a free concert is the only ticket I can afford. We’d stay there for as long as you’d like. Then walk you back home—taking the long way, of course.”

“Of course,” she smiled, already wanting the rest of their date to head in this direction.

“When I get you to your door—“ His cheeks were full-on red by this point—“I’d hold your face all gentle, like you’re supposed to do with a lady, and kiss you on the lips goodnight.”

Katniss didn’t realize she’d been hanging off his every word, leaning as far forward as the table would let her. Her eyes popped open when he was finished, surprised by how much she wanted all of it to come true.

“That sounds wonderful, Peeta.”

He shrugged and pulled away from her like it was no big deal. “Yeah, well. First dates always go wrong. I can still walk you home, though.”

As he helped her into her coat, Katniss thought about his ruined plans. Simply walking her home without any of that buildup didn’t seem right to her. She wanted their first kiss (Was she really thinking that?) to be as ordinarily special as Peeta. Looking out the window while he paid the cashier, she considered her options. It didn’t look like the rain planned on stopping soon, but with one twitch of her nose could solve everything in a heartbeat.

“No magic!” Katniss hissed to herself. Peeta looked at her strangely, but she covered it up with a quiet cough. As the line grew shorter, her stance grew weaker and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to magic this away. It was one measly storm, right?

Before she could second-guess herself, Katniss twitched her nose and the storm clouds broke apart instantly. Sun blinded everyone looking out a window or walking outside and the rain puddles were gone as soon as they appeared.

“Oh look,” she said nonchalantly. “It stopped raining.” Peeta blinked, holding his flimsy umbrella in one hand and hers in the other, dumbfounded. She smiled and took the umbrella from him. “I guess you can show me the long route, then.”

It was the last time she’d twitch her nose for him, she swore.

**iii.**

Katniss twitched her nose a lot after their first date. It wouldn’t be big things like she used to do, but it was big enough for her to always scold herself for later, after Peeta left and she was forced to face Madge with a shit-eating smile. “Shut up,” Katniss always muttered whenever it came up. She didn’t want to talk about how no matter how many times she _swore_ this twitch was going to be her last, Katniss always found a reason to twitch again for him. 

“You love him,” Madge sing-songed the afternoon Katniss asked if she would leave so her and Peeta could have the apartment to themselves. “Are you two going to have hot sex on the table?”

Katniss’s face heated up and she shoved her friend, resisting the urge to twitch her into another country. “No!” she sputtered out, mortified Madge assumed they’d even _consider_ having sex there. “We’re just—making cookies.” It sounded more childish aloud than it did in her head.

Madge sprayed her hair, circling her head one more time to make sure not a hair was out of place. “Uh-huh. Hold this.” She handed Katniss her case of bobby pins and started to fix whatever she found wrong with her hair. “Argh! This isn’t right!” Tossing her comb down, she snapped her fingers and her hair popped into place.

“Perfect,” Madge smiled, taking her case and pinching her cheeks to add some color to her complexion. Katniss frowned. “What?”

“The snapping?” Katniss imitated her friend’s action and scowled. “You promised to stop snapping.”

“And you,” Madge giggled, grabbing Katniss’s nose and giving it a tiny twitch, “promised to stop twitching. Looks like we both suck at keeping promises.”

No matter how hard Katniss wanted to protest Madge’s comment, she couldn’t. She couldn’t stop twitching because there was something about Peeta Mellark that made her unable to resist making him happy. She never believed in gratifying people’s needs with her magic before, but Peeta was different. He made her want to be a better person and as thanks, she wanted his life to be as easy as possible. She never planned to take away his callouses on his hands she found so attractive and dreamt so often about or the burns she discovered he got whenever he got too close to his baking sheets; oh no. Katniss loved those faults far too much to magic them away. It was annoyances like his ice melting too soon or the TV acting up during his favorite show. The little things. They didn’t matter as much. They shouldn’t count.

But they did and Madge knew it.

“Just promise to be out late,” Katniss grumbled, falling onto her lumpy mattress and continued watching Madge finish getting ready.

“Big cookie night?” Madge popped her red lips and smiled at her reflection. “No worries. I have a date with this human tonight. If things go right, I’ll crash at his place and you two will have the place to yourselves.”

Katniss sat up. “You have a date?”

“Gee, don’t sound so surprised.”

“I’m not. It’s just—you’re sure he’s human?”

“If he’s not, that’ll make two liars, now won’t it?” She frowned at her outfit and snapped into another one. “Better?”

“Much.”

Madge wiped above her brow and sunk into the vanity chair she supposedly bought with her recent raise. “Phew! I don’t know how humans are able to do all that without _some_ assistance. I’m exhausted from just doing all that.” 

Katniss smiled at her friend’s laziness and threw a pillow at her. “Just don’t come home unless it’s past midnight, okay?”

“You are so getting laid!” Madge exclaimed, snapping out of the room before Katniss could attack.

* * *

Baking was a lot harder than the books made it seem. Katniss understood the concept of baking and loved the end result, but getting there was a lot harder than she thought, with a lot of unnecessary steps involved. Why did they need to use so many bowls if everything was going to be mixed into one big bowl? Or why adding certain things helped make the dough tastier while adding something else ruined the taste forever. She didn’t get it at all.

Peeta found it hilarious. Coming from a family of bakers, he grew up around naturals and assumed everyone knew the basics of baking. After seeing her unsuccessfully crack three eggs, he realized not everyone grew up in such luxury and offered his assistance.

“You really weren’t kidding about the baking thing,” he commented from behind her. His hand was over hers, helping her stir the chocolate chip dough into a creamy batter. Katniss knew she could take it from here, but feeling him all around her heightened her senses and she couldn’t part with him just yet. “I didn’t know anyone could be as bad as you.”

“Hey now,” she argued, bumping him with her butt. A blush crept up when she felt more of him than she thought and focused on the dough. “We all can’t come from world-renowned bakers.”

With her pulled so close up to him, she felt the vibrations of his laugh and smiled despite her faux irritation. “I would hardly call my family world-renowned bakers, but I never thought I’d see a woman your age not be able to successfully crack a single egg. Didn’t your mother teach you when you were little?”

This was how Peeta tried to weasel information about her family now. He would hide it behind teasing and jokes. Sometimes she didn’t catch it in time and have to cover up the truth with a lie that didn’t make much sense to him either, but most times Katniss caught his curiosity in time before her big mouth told too much.

Her body stiffened at her mother’s mentioning and she imagined how her mother would be if she were in the tiny kitchen with them. But it was too hard to imagine, though. Her mother would never be caught in a kitchen because she’d think kitchens were beneath her and their race. “We’re witches,” she imagined her mother saying. “What good would it be to know how to crack a stupid egg when I can magic in a cooked omelette with the wave of my hand?” 

“My mother and I were never close,” Katniss muttered, and it was the truth. Her mother was always visiting foreign lands, expecting others to raise Katniss and Prim. “She loved traveling too much.”

She jumped when his lips trailed down her neck, sucking slightly at the base of her throat. “My mother was never around much either.”

“Really?” It was extremely hard trying to focus on stirring cookie dough when he was doing that.

He nodded. “Ran off for a bit, but she returned after living on the streets for a few weeks. Never the same after that.” She remembered him telling her something about how hard his mother was on him and his brothers while growing up, but her jumbled mind couldn’t remember exact details with his lips on her neck.

“My parents just turned Prim and me into the rodents we were behaving as until they felt we learned our lesson and turned us back.” He laughed against her neck, thinking she was joking. She wished.

“I think we should get back to baking,” Katniss breathed. If they continued, nothing would get finished and she refused to see Madge’s shit-eating grin again anytime soon. “Peeta.”

He reluctantly pulled away, running his hands up her arms and shoulders. His touch made her shiver, but she was determined to focus all her attention on the cookies. Nothing was going to happen today, no matter what Madge thought.

“You’re right. Uh, got any powdered sugar? My dad has this family recipe that will make these cookies even better.” His eyes twinkled in excitement. It was impossible to tell him no, she didn’t have any powdered sugar. He could leave and then the whole moment would be ruined forever.

She twitched her nose.

Last time, she swore. 

**iv.**

Christmas was right around the corner and Katniss was still clueless on what to make Peeta. She decided this year for Christmas everything was going to be homemade. None of this store-bought crap everyone was so keen on buying. Her gifts were going to come from the heart, like how the humans used to give gifts centuries ago. They were going to mean something.

Prim’s gift was the easiest because her sister was so fond of anything floral that all Katniss had to do was collect a bouquet of the most colorful flowers she could find and weave them into a flower crown Katniss remembered one of the original actors from _A Midsummer Night_ _’_ _s Dream_ wore the day the play opened. With a simple spell to make sure the flowers never died, Prim’s gift was done in no time.

Madge’s gift was easy, too. For weeks Katniss collected colored bottles she found on the streets and in restaurants and smashed them into smaller pieces in order to make a glass portrait of Madge’s favorite flower: the red rose. Madge’s gift took much longer to make because Katniss wanted to smash the pieces herself and piece them together, but once everything was placed, she twitched her nose and cemented the glass together.

Both gifts were laced around her magic, but Peeta’s couldn’t. Katniss knew this. It was one thing using her magic on Prim’s and Madge’s gifts; they were witches and expected that sort of thing from her (no matter how many times she told them she twitched her nose for the last time). Peeta was a blood-red American who didn’t believe in witches and magic. His mother literally knocked that sense right out of him when he was still young enough to believe in her kind. It felt wrong using her powers on his _gift_.

But making something for Peeta was proving harder than she originally anticipated. For weeks she’d been trying, but with each failing project, she realized how useless she really was without her magic. Her parents argument from years ago snuck up constantly now, making her edgier than usual.

“I give up!” Katniss announced, tossing her knitting needles on the table in defeat. 

“Told you knitting was harder than it looked,” Madge yawned from the couch, flipping a page in her magazine with little interest.

“What did you get Gale?” Madge and Gale had been going out for almost four months now, surely they were exchanging gifts.

“A fancy razor.”

“You could afford that?”

Madge looked up from her magazine and popped her bubblegum. “Uh, yeah,” she chewed. “Totally.”

Knowing Gale was going to get something amazing with a simple snap of Madge’s fingers infuriated her. At this rate, Peeta was going to get knotted yarn attached to knitting needles, a lopsided pot she tried to mold, and a canvas filled with colorful paint streaks that were meant to look like art instead of a child’s mistake. How did normal girls shop for their boyfriends? Was she the only one who wanted to make anything anymore? 

“Why don’t you make him one of those fancy cards?” Madge suggested. “Write a poem and everything.”

“That sounds so elementary.”

“Fine.” Madge got up and tossed the magazine over her shoulder, not caring where it landed in the room. “Give him the string. See which one he’ll enjoy more.”

She was running out of time. She needed to think fast.

* * *

Katniss looked at the picture of the cake in her cookbook and the thing she just pulled out of the oven. It didn’t even look edible it was so discolored. Was carrot cake supposed to have that odd orange tint to it? She looked back at the picture, then back at her creation and frowned. This looked nothing like the photo.

Gently poking it, Katniss half expected the thing to growl at her, or bite her finger off in anger, but it sat there. The cake wasn’t soft like good cakes were supposed to be and it wasn’t brown like good cake are supposed to be, either. How the hell did she screw this up?

“I followed every single step,” she muttered to herself, skimming the directions again. Every little thing it asked her to do she did. She even followed the stupid bowl instruction and dirtied three unnecessary bowls because she wanted Peeta’s favorite cake to be the best he’d ever had. It shouldn’t come as much surprise that something went wrong. It was her first solo baking act.

Taking a deep breath in, she began covering the orange brick with more orange frosting that matched his favorite color. “He will love it because I made it,” Katniss repeated. “He won’t care what it looks or even tastes like! He’ll love it because I made it.”

It was a lie she was able to swallow until they met up the next day to exchange their gifts and see a movie at the theater down the street from her apartment.

“It’s not much,” Peeta told her, handing the small, green package to her.

She smiled at how carefully he wrapped her present, with the paper fancily folded at the corners and gold ribbon perfectly tied in a neat bow on top. If she didn’t know he couldn’t afford it, Katniss would’ve assumed he hired someone to wrap the gift, but Peeta was a perfectionist and it was no surprise he took thought into the presentation of her gift. Carefully opening the sides with the slide of her finger, Katniss pulled the wrapping paper off and gasped. It was a string of Coke bottle caps made into a necklace.

“You remembered,” she laughed.

“I did.” He took the strand and tied it around her neck. “It looks lovely on you, Katniss.” Gently touching her gift, she thought fondly of the day they were walking through the park and saw a group of teenagers wearing the bottle caps as jewelry.

“My mother would kill me if she ever saw me wearing something like that,” she leaned in and whispered to him that day. “‘They’re wearing garbage,’ she’d say.”

Peeta turned back to the group and watched them. “I’d say it’s pretty neat making something out of trash. Not many people have that skill, you know.”

“You gonna make me one?” she joked, swinging their clasped hands in the air.

“Only of the special pops,” he told her and he kept his promise.

The caps all looked the same to her, but she knew Peeta well enough that the caps had to mean something to him. When she asked he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and kissed her on the lips. They kissed often (especially now that Madge was over at Gale’s most nights), but tonight felt different. It felt more urgent than previous kisses ever did, like they were pressed for time.

“Peeta, Peeta,” she breathed from underneath him. “Not yet.”

“Right, right.” He sat back up, pushing his tussled hair back and giving her a peck on her swollen lips. “I love you, Katniss. Merry Christmas.”

Conscious of her nose, Katniss practically floated to the kitchen to retrieve his Christmas gift. He’d never told her he loved her before. It was implied, yes, but Peeta’d never said those words to her before. No one had. Was she supposed to say it back?

This was new territory for her. Far newer than when her and Peeta started dating because Madge was able to give her advice on what to do with a boyfriend. Kiss, hold hands, talk—all things normal couples did. They talked about those things for hours, but never this. They never talked about what happened when you reached the “I love you” stage in the relationship.

She was going to say it. Yes, that’s what she was going to do. Twitching her nose to make sure the cake looked perfect to fit her confession, Katniss walked back into the living room with his newly decorated cake.

“I baked it for you,” she announced when he took the hat box off it. “It’s your favorite: carrot cake.”

His grin widened until his smile looked like it was going to crack off his face. “Katniss,” he breathed, studying the piped roses lining the edges and the intricate loops of her cursive. “It’s absolutely breathtaking. Did you do this all by yourself?”

_Yes_ was on the tip of her tongue, _Yes I baked and decorated this cake all by myself, and it_ _’_ _s because I love you, Peeta. I followed all those directions perfectly because I love you and wanted it to be perfect._ All those words sat on the tip of her tongue, but looking into his eyes, she couldn’t. She’d never seen someone look at her with such pride before. Peeta looked at her like she hung the moon and sun with her fingers. Not even her parents looked at her the way Peeta was looking at her.

It felt wrong lying to him about this. He truly thought she was this talented when it was all her magic’s talent. She couldn’t lie to him about this; not when he was looking at her like that.

“Peeta, I…I…” Katniss twitched her nose and the room froze.

She couldn’t do it. It was impossible to lie to him about all of this. About her. She took the plate from his hands and frowned at her work. She couldn’t tell him “I love you” with a lie. He needed to know as much of the truth as possible. She turned the cake back to its original brick form and slid it back in his hands. Should she still tell him she loved him?

“Peeta,” she sighed, looking nervously away because his blue eyes killed her every time she looked into them. They made it so hard to lie to him about so much. “I…” _Spit it out._ “I love you, Peeta. I don’t know for how long, but I do.” There, she said it.

Still frozen, he didn’t say anything, but it felt good to say out loud. It felt more real.

“I’m also a witch,” Katniss went on, figuring telling his frozen self everything would ease her guilty conscious. “I’ve been around for a very, _very_ long time and have seen my fair share of terrible people, but I’ve never met someone so… so decent. You’re my ordinary human and I love you for that. I love the way your calloused hands graze under my shirt when we kiss because they remind me that you’ve worked hard for your accomplishments.” She ran her fingers over his clutched hands. “I love every single scar you have, even if the memories behind them are things you wish to forget. I love every single one because they made you who you are today.

“I love you, Peeta, but I’m too scared to tell you that. Some day, though. When I’m ready to tell you _everything._ I promise.” She kissed him gently on the forehead before twitching her nose, pretending that something so life altering in her world didn’t even cause a ripple in his.

**v.**

Finnick was right. Peeta deserved to know the truth. Twitching back to his apartment, she scanned the room to see if he noticed she’d ever left. He didn’t. Snoring under the pillow that he burrowed himself under, it didn’t even look like he budged in the past four hours.

_Good_. She was worried she’d have to explain her disappearance to a frantic boyfriend who would hardly take “I magically twitched myself to Paris” as a valid excuse why she up and left in the middle of the night.

It was still early enough in the morning that Katniss could curl under the covers with him and try to sleep herself, but with her father’s impending doom hanging over her head, she knew waiting until Peeta woke up was out of the question. It’d been years since she’d spoken with her father, but she could never forget the centuries of being on the receiving end of his anger. She couldn’t let Peeta go in blindsided.

Might as well get telling him over with.

“Peeta.” Katniss poked him in the rib.

Nothing.

“Peeta.” She poked him in the head.

His snores stuttered, but still nothing.

“Peeta!” She twitched her nose and a bucket of ice cold water poured on him. Leaping out of bed, yelping in shock at the speed of light, Peeta gasped for air, frantically searching the room for the source of water.

“Katniss!” he hissed between chattering teeth. “What the hell?”

“I needed to wake you up.” 

“And a simple ‘good morning’ didn’t work for you?”

“No?” 

Peeta stood across from her, arms crossed, and waited. “Well?” he snapped. “What was it that you couldn’t wait until I woke up on my own?”

Maybe this wasn’t the right time to tell him. Maybe she should wait until after he proposed and they got married. That was a much safer bet than to crush his whole world with the truth.

“Never mind,” she said, brushing her worries off. “It can wait. Really. It’s not big deal.” What was a few more years of lying to him about this?

A loud clap of thunder shook his apartment, the trinkets and books he collected clicking together under the vibration, and she knew her father was coming to get her. She had to tell him.

“Wait!” Katniss grimaced. She couldn’t even look at him when she told him. Loosening her fists and shaking out her hands, she took in two deep breaths and told him: “Peeta, I’m a witch.”

Her boyfriend blankly stared at her, squinting his eyes a bit as if that would help his hearing.

“I beg your pardon?”

“A witch,” Katniss began to explain, stepping closer to him. “I was born a long time ago and…my parents are powerful government rulers in my world.”

“Your world?”

“Where wizards and witches live. My world.” Peeta shook his head and started muttering something she couldn’t make out under his breath. “We won’t get in trouble for dating,” Katniss continued. “There’s a law and everything protecting us!”

Peeta wagged a finger at her, still shaking his head. “You’re a witch,” he stated, and she slowly nodded. “You’re not from this world, but another one?”

She smiled, glad he was taking this so well. “Yes! Oh, Peeta, I’m so glad you understand!” It was silly to worry for so long what his reaction would be on her full identity. He understood! He accepted her! She opened her arms for a hug, but Peeta stepped back, still muttering something to himself.

“Peeta?” It was hard to mask the hurt his rejection caused.

“You’re a witch,” he said again. “Do you ride a broom?”

“When I was little, but I learned—”

“And the pointed nose and crooked teeth?”

Katniss rolled her eyes at his statements. She was more than a stereotype. “I’m a witch who could turn you into a lizard if you decide to file me under one of your nasty witches stereotype you humans are so fond over.”

“ _Humans_?”

“Yes, humans. You’re a human. I’m a witch.” She tried to get him to see this wasn’t as complicated as he was making it out to be. “It really doesn’t matter because…I love you and…yeah.” She kicked at rug, embarrassed this was the way she wanted to tell him she loved him.

Whatever Peeta was muttering, he stopped at her confession and stared right at her. “You what?”

Her eyes met his and instantly she couldn’t look away, even if she wanted to he wouldn’t let her.

“I…I love you.” It came out as more of a question.

Peeta took a step closer. “Say it again.”

“I love you,” Katniss told him with more confidence. He closed the gap between them, pulling her close for a kiss.

“Say it again, please.”

“I love you,” she laughed against his lips.

“I love you, too.”

They kissed again, only to be interrupted by another loud clap of thunder. Katniss broke apart and looked up at him. “So you don’t care?”

“What, that you’re a witch?” She nodded, gnawing on her bottom lip like she always did whenever she got nervous. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I never expected it, but…if you say you’re a witch, then you’re a witch.”

“I am a witch.” Peeta needed to remember what he was getting into with her.

“And I’m German. We’ll make it work.”


End file.
